<p>Hey guys! I just wanted to know what is the maximum amount of loans you would be willing to take out in order to go to your "dream" school? What is financially advisable for a student is aiming for a high-income profession in the future?</p>
<p>When I was doing this, I decided early on to stick with the Stafford loan limits. I come from a low-income family and it wasn’t realistic for me to take out loans that would prevent me from being able to live on my own if I needed to. In a case like mine, I would not count on “high-income professions” saving you; it’s very unlikely for a new graduate in most fields to make even close to their job’s median income the first year out of college.</p>
<p>What is your career goal and how much do you think you’ll be earning after graduation?</p>
<p>Well I was thinking about moving on to medical school. I understand that is a considerable amount of money as well, so basically what is a manageable amount of debt for a doctor to be able to pay off after undergrad and med school?</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Since medical school is in your future, I think taking out as few (or no) loans as an undergrad it the best bet.</p>
<p>Medical school costs $200k or more (for tuition, fees, supplies, room, board, etc). Private medical schools and OOS publics are costing $280k. So, if you have to borrow for that, you’ll have big debt just from that. </p>
<p>New doctors don’t earn a lot of money so making big loan payments can be difficult.</p>
<p>Just borrowing $224k for med school (including $24k for undergrad) means monthly payments of $2577 for 10 years. Again, that is hard for a youngish doctor.</p>
<p>Any good school can prepare you for med school. You don’t have to go to some high ranking undergrad and rack up debt - that would actually be a huge mistake. </p>
<p>I have a son who is pre-med. He accepted a big scholarship at a mid-tier college, will get his undergrad debt-free, and we’ll be able to help him with med school costs.</p>
<p>You might want to ask your parents if you take big undergrad scholarship if they will help you with med school costs to keep down that debt. </p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>Reallyreal- before you even think about medical school or becoming a doctor, I would highly suggest you realistically look at what your family can afford. This is HUGE, and I mean huge, because being a doctor (at least in the states) is no longer the once comfortable career path it was. There is increasing issues in the legal field of medicine. Malpractice insurance and your student loan payments will be insane. Not to mention, as a med student, you probably won’t be able to work at all during your remaining education.</p>
<p>Yes, you will make great money, but there is a reason that you need that money. You really need to look into your loan payments and the cost of malpractice. Doctors do not make that much money fresh out of school, and you have to factor in the cost of forgoing all those years of lost potential wages.</p>
<p>But then again, I’m just a simpleton.</p>
<p>Student:</p>
<p>Gender: M
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Location: Houston, TX
College Class Year: 2015
High School: Public
High School Type: rarely sends grads to top schools</p>
<p>AP’s:
10th Grade- World History (4)
11th Grade- US History, Biology, English Language (Scores won’t come in until late July, but I’m confident I received 4’s or 5’s in all subjects.)
12th Grade- Will take Goverment/Economics (Taught as one class where students take both AP tests), Chemistry, Calculus AB, and English Lit.</p>
<p>GPA: My school has a really weird GPA system. I’m not sure what mine is, but I have all A’s for all classes throughout high school.
Class Rank: As of now, 5 out of about 900 </p>
<p>Scores:</p>
<p>SAT I Math: 740
SAT I Critical Reading: 700
SAT I Writing: 800
SAT II U.S. History: 730
SAT II Biology - M: 760</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:</p>
<p>Significant Extracurriculars: Student Council (9-12), Yearbook (9-12), National Honor Society (10-12), Academic Decathlon (10-12), Upward Bound Math & Science
Leadership positions: Student Council- (Newsletter Coordinator-10) (State Representative-11) (President-12)</p>
<p>Yearbook- (Organizations Editor-9) (Sports Editor-11)
Athletic Status - list sport and your level: JV Soccer (9-10), Varsity Soccer (12)
Summer programs: National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine (10) Upward Bound Math and Science Summer Prep Classes [(10-11) These were basically summer courses taught by community college professors in order to prepare us for AP classes during the school year.]</p>
<p>Also, my parents are divorced. I am a little confused about if colleges will use only my custodial parent’s financial information or my other parent’s as well.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That depends on whether or not they use the FAFSA or the CSS Profile form. The FAFSA only uses custodial parent information but the CSS uses both of them.</p>
<p>You should look at this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>I would recommend shaking the “dream school” mentality immediately. In truth, many students end up disappointed with their dream schools, especially if they involve big loans. Many more kids make realistic choices based which schools have strong programs and opportunities, good advising, and decent financial aid and they end up loving the schools they never put on the “A list”. There have been a couple of threads from kids like this on the Parents forum, posters returning after 2-3 years to say they’re totally happy with the choices they made. You’ve got a lot of choices with your stats…make good use of them!</p>
<p>Reallyreal, if you are even remotely thinking about med school I’d find the best (quality) and cheapest undergrad you can find and try to get out debt free or at least with no more than the Staffords. You’ve got an impressive record. Make sure you have a FAFSA only school or two on the list that will only consider your custodial parent’s income and maybe shoot high at the tippy tops that give great aid, then find some good schools that give generous aid. Definitely start at the link that Erin’s Dad posted. If there is a region you want to stick to or if you prefer urban/rural, large or small that will help people guide you toward some good options.</p>
<p>I came across this by accident when looking at this college for S2, there may be others like this: It’s a scholarship with guaranteed admittance into med school and full tuition for undergrad and a MCAT waiver. It’s got to be super competitive but the requirements are tight, but wow what a deal.
To qualify applicants must be a U.S. citizen and must meet at least one of the following criteria:</p>
<p>•be from a rural background
•be from an underrepresented minority
•be the first generation to attend college</p>
<p>[HWS:</a> Blackwell Scholars](<a href=“http://www.hws.edu/admissions/blackwell_scholars.aspx]HWS:”>http://www.hws.edu/admissions/blackwell_scholars.aspx)</p>
<p>*Also, my parents are divorced. I am a little confused about if colleges will use only my custodial parent’s financial information or my other parent’s as well. *</p>
<p>Some CSS Profile schools ask for NCP info. Some use the CSS NCP form and some use their own form. </p>
<p>Both types (CSS and FAFSA) will want your custodial parent’s income and the income the spouse if remarried.</p>
<p>Schools that don’t ask for NCP info often don’t give good aid. </p>
<p>So, if you have an NCP that won’t likely “pay his fair share,” then you need to avoid schools that will expect him to pay. These are often the top ranked schools like the ivies, etc.</p>
<p>But, if you get a HUGE scholarship from the schools that offer such, and your custodial family’s income is low, then will Pell and other aid, you could get your costs covered.</p>
<p>*if you are even remotely thinking about med school I’d find the best (quality) and cheapest undergrad you can find and try to get out debt free or at least with no more than the Staffords. You’ve got an impressive record. *</p>
<p>Yes, and with your stats, you could get some great merit scholarships.</p>
<p>*Make sure you have a FAFSA only school or two on the list that will only consider your custodial parent’s income and maybe shoot high at the tippy tops that give great aid, then find some good schools that give generous aid. *</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the “tippy top” schools expect to see the income/asset info of the non-custodial parent, so if he’s not cooperative (or won’t pay his fair share), then these schools probably won’t be affordable. Applying to a couple “just to see” would be ok, but no one can depend on these - especially if you have an NCP that won’t pay according to his income.</p>
<p>What is your situation?</p>
<p>Is the income of your custodial family low (including the income of any step-parent)?</p>
<p>Will your non-custodial parent help pay for college?</p>
<p>Well I’m not exactly sure what can be considered low, but my custodial parent makes around 60,000 per year. My non custodial parent makes 30,000 per year and his wife makes 50,000 per year. I have a good relationship with both of my parents and they are both willing to pay what they can.</p>
<p>How much is your family willing (and able) to pay? </p>
<p>This might give you an idea of what some of the schools with “generous” need based financial aid expect parents to pay: [Project</a> on Student Debt: What’s the Bottom Line?](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php?sort=a.institution]Project”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php?sort=a.institution)</p>
<p>Of course there are less expensive schools and merit aid out there.</p>
<p>I took out a total of $9,000 at my undergrad. Looking back, I think my limit would be the Stafford loan limits - $27,000. That’s a manageable debt load for even the lowest-paying of jobs and federal loans have all kinds of perks - fixed interest rates, eligible for income-based repayment, etc.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t even matter what my career goal is, or how much I “think” I’ll be earning after I graduate. In my experience, undergraduates frequently change their minds about what they want to do. When I first entered undergrad I said I wanted to go to medical school too, as did half my freshman class. By senior year very few of those who said they wanted to be doctors were actually headed to medical school after graduation. You learn so much about yourself in college and what your real interests are; you also learn more about the variety of careers out there (think about it: as a child, you don’t necessarily get a lot of exposure to career choices besides doctors, lawyers, engineers, maybe whatever your parents do, teachers, and a couple other things). Maybe you’ll decide you want to be a journalist instead, or a teacher, or a pilot. Even if you do still want to be a doctor four years later, maybe you don’t get into medical school your first round and you need to work for a year.</p>
<p>In my experience undergraduates are also unrealistic about what they’d be making their first year out of college. I always assumed that my first year salary would be around $50-60K out of college, until I got older and realized - ha! - it’s going to be closer to $30-40K, if you’re lucky.</p>
<p>When choosing a college and deciding on debt load, I think it’s better to decide what you and your parents can comfortably afford on ANY kind of job. A lot of things can happen between now and four years from now. Pick a school that will prepare you adequately for a wide range of careers (and not necessarily what has the best program in what you think you’re going to major in, unless it’s a really specialized degree like nursing or engineering or theater).</p>
<p>I’m having a similar dilemma. I just read this article in the NY Times: [Your</a> Money - Another Debt Crisis Is Brewing, This One in Student Loans - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/your-money/student-loans/29money.html]Your”>Another Debt Crisis Is Brewing, This One in Student Loans - The New York Times) and now I’m having second thoughts about how much money is too much to borrow?</p>
<p>I’m going into an MBA program, and I’m estimating that by the time I’m out, I’ll be making 80k/year. I’ve calculated the total amount of loans I’ll need to take out for the 2-year program is also $80,000. Since my visa status won’t allow federal loans, I’m going to have to take out private loans, and my parents are both low-income, so my APR might be a bit high. </p>
<p>Do you think $80,000 in loans for an MBA program is too much to pay on an $80,000 salary? I would really appreciate your advice and feedback on this issue. Thanks!</p>
<p>How did you reach the conclusion that you’ll be making $80,000 a year the year when you graduate? I’m also concerned about if it’s possible for your family to qualify for $80,000 in loans. Most private loans that I’ve heard of require cosigners; are your parents going to be able to qualify for the loans not just for the first year but for each subsequent year?</p>
<p>Apply to your dream schools, but also apply to some schools where you would be happy and they would be so happy to have you that they will pay you to attend. YOur dream schools may offer you what you want academically and financially and you can make a decision after the offers are in. I regularly recommend the book Colleges that Change Lives by Loren Pope. He gives figures on graduate/medical school admissions for many LACs. It is a great little book and you might get some good ideas from it.</p>
<p>*I’m going into an MBA program, and I’m estimating that by the time I’m out, I’ll be making 80k/year. I’ve calculated the total amount of loans I’ll need to take out for the 2-year program is also $80,000. Since my visa status won’t allow federal loans, I’m going to have to take out private loans, and my parents are both low-income, so my APR might be a bit high.</p>
<p>Do you think $80,000 in loans for an MBA program is too much to pay on an $80,000 salary? I would really appreciate your advice and feedback on this issue. Thanks! *</p>
<p>I answered you by PM, but I thought I’d post a bit here. :)</p>
<p>Your parents are low income, so it’s doubtful they would qualify to co-sign for 2 loans at $40k each. They might qualify the first year, but likely be declined the second. Then you’d be in a pickle…halfway thru, no MBA, and no way to pay to finish.</p>
<p>There’s no guarantee that you will be making $80k after you graduate. You won’t be working for 2 years, and you may not get hired for that much.</p>
<p>However, even if you did start at $80k, a $20k increase in pay won’t really be a $20k increase. That $20k will be taxed at a high rate (fed and state), plus social security deductions. You’ll be lucky to net $10k per year - of which all will go towards your loans (You’ll be paying at least $10k per year in loan payments - if not more.) So, what are you gaining? </p>
<p>BTW…since you’re not a citizen or green card resident, will you get charged the instate rate or the out of state rate. I know that UCs charge instate rate for undergrads who go to high school in Calif, but do they have the same rules for grad school?</p>
<p>Either way, the cost at UCLA is high. Will $40k per year be enough? Where will you be living?
<a href=“http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x27477.xml[/url]”>http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x27477.xml</a></p>
<p>I think you should stay at your own job and get your MBA at night at a local school. Perhaps your job will reimburse you for the costs.</p>